Students from China and India accounted for 47% of all active foreign students in the U.S. in 2020, as per the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Indian students comprised the second largest student community in the U.K. and Australia in 2019-2020. In recent years, Canada has emerged as a sought-after destination for Indian students. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Donald Trump administration’s restrictive student visa policies was Canada. Indian students are now the largest group within the international student community in Canada.
But in spite of their role in enhancing India’s soft power internationally, through their excellent academic performance as well as seamless integration into these countries, Indian students face several problems. These are often overlooked. However, in recent years Indian student associations have been trying to draw attention to these concerns.
Three major challenges
Ever since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian students already studying overseas as well as those seeking to go abroad have faced several challenges. First, most Indian students were forced to delay their plans in 2020 due to the imposition of lockdowns, disruption of flights, and embassies not issuing student visas. This led to a drop in the number of Indian students going abroad to study in 2020. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, while in 2019 nearly 5.9 lakh students went overseas for higher education, in 2020 only 2.6 lakh were able to go. While the first two months of 2021 saw 72,000 students going overseas, the devastating second wave impacted the career plans of students. This is not to say that the enthusiasm to go overseas has waned; embassies and high commissions are unable to deal with the backlog of applications.
Furthermore, many countries have closed their borders and/or restricted flights from India. As a result, students have to look for circuitous routes and end up paying higher air fares. While students are able to make it to Canada through expensive and indirect routes right now, Australia is likely to keep its borders closed well into 2022 given the surge in cases there. The U.K. and the U.S. have tried to make exceptions to their rules for international students, but there remain a number of rules and regulations which have made it very cumbersome to enter these countries, if not impossible.
The second problem is that of vaccination. As universities abroad open up for international students and begin allowing in-person classes from fall 2021, many require students to get vaccinated before they go. Covaxin and Sputnik V are yet to be recognised by the World Health Organization. Countries like the U.S. do not accept students who have been inoculated with these vaccines and have told them to get re-vaccinated. Many students who have been vaccinated with Covishield are waiting for the 12-week gap to pass in order to get their second dose. To help them, States which send a large number of students abroad have prioritised vaccines for international students.
Third, due to the disruption caused by COVID-19, students overseas are finding it difficult to get jobs.
Addressing issues
In a post-COVID-19 world, there are likely to be numerous disruptions, but it is important for officials and universities to work jointly to address the challenges which overseas Indian students face. It is impossible to predict when things will get back to normal and when logistical issues relating to Indian students seeking to study overseas will be addressed. While there are certain issues which specifically impact students, there are others such as policies pertaining to air travel and recognition of Covaxin which need to be addressed at the earliest to facilitate smooth travel for tourists seeking to go overseas.
Tridivesh Singh Maini is a faculty member at the Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat
